The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) has successfully finalised two extradition matters both involving gender-based violence and femicide.
In both cases the suspects had allegedly killed their partners and thereafter fled the country where they committed the crime..
An extradition is a legal process embarked on by way of an application made to the country the suspect has fled to after committing an offence in the country they fled from.
KZN NPA spokesperson Natasha Remisson-Karaatasha said that the process involves the two countries liaising with each other for the return of the suspect to the country where they allegedly committed the offence.
"A request for an extradition involves court processes that must be stringently followed. Details of the facts of the case for which the person is being sought are shared between the countries. Legal documents need to be drafted by the prosecutors of the respective countries. When making these applications the prosecutors must adhere to strict timelines. Each country has their own set of criteria and factors that must be considered before an extradition application is approved and a suspect extradited," she said.
Kara further said that the first extradition application was made by the Kingdom of Eswatini to South Africa.
"The request was for the extradition of one of their nationals who had allegedly strangled his girlfriend there and then fled to SA. Their request for extradition was on the basis that he can be prosecuted for the alleged crime in Eswatini. Investigations by Eswatini police officers revealed that the suspect was hiding out on a farm in Kokstad. After requesting the South African Police Services (SAPS) to assist with his arrest, he was arrested on 20 October 2020," she said.
Kara said the extradition application was made through the Minister of Justice in South Africa as required by the Extradition Act 67 of 1963.
"In court the accused applied for legal representation, and he consented to being extradited back to Eswatini. The court was satisfied that the accused could be extradited as all the requirements in terms of the treaty between South Africa and Eswatini had been complied with. The matter was then referred to the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development to make the final determination on whether to extradite the accused. The Minister found him extraditable, and in July 2023 the accused was handed over to Eswatini police officers by Interpol for him to stand trial in Eswatini on a charge of murder," she said.
Kara said: " The second extradition application was made by South Africa to Eswatini for a South African national (the accused) from Nongoma who was in hiding in Eswatini. The accused was in an allegedly abusive relationship with his girlfriend (the deceased) causing her to obtain a protection order against him in September 2020.
A few days after obtaining the protection order, the accused and the deceased had an argument, and he allegedly fatally stabbed her. The accused thereafter fled Nongoma to Eswatini. The NPA drafted a request for the provisional arrest of the accused. This was signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions in KZN, Advocate Elaine Zungu, and transmitted to Eswatini via Interpol channels. An extradition inquiry was held at a court in Eswatini, and the magistrate found that the accused was extraditable. The Minister of Justice in Eswatini confirmed the magistrates' order.
"On 04 August 2023 Interpol officials from South Africa travelled to Eswatini and brought the accused back to South Africa. He appeared in the Nongoma Magistrates' Court on 07 August 2023 where he abandoned his application for bail. The matter has been postponed to 04 September 2023 for further investigations."
